FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DRUG ABUSE - PAGE 2

The Upper Merion school board this week introduced a new drug-abuse policy designed to spot students with developing alcohol and drug problems and direct them to help. The public will have a month to make comments and suggestions. The policy was formally presented Monday evening at the school board meeting. A week earlier, board members voiced no substantive objections to the policy at their work session; they are scheduled to vote on the policy at their next public meeting, scheduled for Sept.

Rescuing adolescents from their own depraved behavior is increasingly dominating the Clinton administration's health policy. But the White House's campaigns against teen-age smoking and drug abuse obscure its own agencies' reports showing that the real crisis is among adults. Ninety-eight percent of Americans who die from illegal drugs are over age 20. And parents' smoking causes hundreds of thousands of children's diseases every year and is the biggest single factor influencing teen-agers to smoke.

Drug education should be a community concern - not just a school district responsibility, according to members of the newly formed Pemberton Borough Alliance on Substance Abuse. The coalition, with financial support from the Borough Council, has been formed to organize the efforts of Pemberton Borough school officials, the Police Department, business groups and other community organizations to fight drug abuse. A forerunner of the group, the Pemberton Borough School Health Advisory Committee, was formed two years ago. Its members, which include teachers, parents and members of the Police Department, will be included in the alliance.

An increase in the number of drug users in factories and offices across the country has made for a "hidden epidemic" in the workplace, according to a local drug-abuse expert. As many as half of all office and factory workers may be involved in some kind of substance or alcohol abuse, said Jeffrey Clayton, an industry drug- and alcohol-abuse consultant who spoke to local business people at a recent workshop at the Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill. The substance most abused in the workplace is marijuana, followed by alcohol, cocaine and methamphetamine, he said.

Like most parents, Janet Lowe of Beverly is concerned about keeping children away from drugs. But she's not content with just talking about preventing drug abuse. This Beverly resident's answer to the problem is "the Enforcers. " They're not a rock music group or a bunch of vigilantes but a club of about 25 young people, ages 6 to 19, who live in Lowe's neighborhood. Their task is to talk to other young people about drug and alcohol abuse as well as crime prevention and fire and water safety.

John Wilder of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has a sure-fire way of picking out teenage drug-runners. He looks for kids with beepers. "What do 12- or 13-year-old kids need a beeper for other than to make drug transactions?" Wilder asked. Wilder, who for 7 1/2 years was special agent in charge of the DEA's Philadelphia office, was one of the speakers yesterday at the Black Family Conference held at the Civic Center. The seven-day conference, which concluded yesterday, focused on problems facing black families.

Representatives of Philadelphia women's groups yesterday urged one another to confront soaring drug abuse and deteriorating health conditions in an era of sharply reduced government spending for social programs. More than 100 members of women's organizations, treatment programs and other groups held an all-day forum at Temple University focusing on AIDS, drugs and what was described as the unraveling of the family and social fabric in communities across the city. Some speakers attacked cutbacks in government social spending and singled out Mayor Goode for criticism.

The Mount Holly branch of the Statewide Community Organization Program (SCOP) - part of Gov. Kean's blueprint for a drug-free New Jersey - met Monday to develop a parent outreach project. Designed to reduce drug use in New Jersey over the next generation, SCOP, formed in 1986, is made up of panels from many communities. Each panel includes six to eight civic and church leaders who plan local substance abuse prevention efforts. Frank Dickel, a specialist on drug and alcohol abuse prevention, said SCOP selected a representative from each municipal government - in Mount Holly's case, Alan Feit, the township manager - who in turn recommends others for the local SCOP team.

It is ludicrous to minimize the drug plague in this country as The Inquirer did on the Editorial Pages of September 16 and 18. Sixty percent of all illegal substances in the world are consumed in the United States. Drugs and attendant abuse cost the economy in excess of $300 billion. This total includes wages lost due to injuries sustained on the job, disability insurance, litigation for claims and suits for negligence, incarceration, vehicular accidents, rehabilitation expenditures (in- and out- patient)

The jingle of police handcuffs accompanied George Santiago into Montgomery County Court last week, as two officers escorted the confessed killer before the judge who would decide his punishment. But first, Santiago, 24, had a story to tell, a story of lifelong drug abuse and unemployment that culminated in the sordid New Year's Day slaying of radio executive Thomas Holtkamp. Holtkamp was found in his office three days after the killing, beaten and strangled with his own belt. Taking the stand in his sentencing hearing before Judge Albert Subers, Santiago said he had used drugs since he was 12. The prosecutor said Santiago had never held a regular job. Even his defense attorney said Santiago's life had been driven by a desire for drugs.